Voters in Chile head to elections for vastly differing frontrunners

Chile is heading into this weekend's presidential election with an unusually stark ideological divide among its leading candidates, ranging from a longtime Communist Party figure to two ultraconservatives.

As the country confronts rising crime, increased immigration, and dissatisfaction with leftist President Gabriel Boric’s administration, analysts cited by CNN suggest many voters may opt for a sharp change in direction.

Eight candidates are on the ballot, with at least three seen as frontrunners.

Among them are José Antonio Kast, an ultraconservative pledging to make Chile “great again”; Johannes Kaiser, a libertarian viewed as even more radical than Kast; and Jeannette Jara, a veteran Communist Party member who has recently sought distance from the current leftist government.

Leading the polls is Jara, a 51-year-old Communist Party member and former labor minister under Boric. Though she is the sole candidate representing Chile’s left-wing coalition, her path is far from straightforward. Her association with the unpopular Boric administration has hurt her standing, prompting her to slowly step back from her party — even suggesting she might suspend her Communist Party membership if elected.

Jara’s platform focuses on promoting development through domestic production, strengthening labor protections, and increasing the minimum wage. She has also acknowledged public anxiety over security, calling for more prisons, expanded law enforcement, and enhanced border technology.

Her nearest competitor in most polls is Kast, a far-right figure often likened to Donald Trump. His proposals echo the former US president’s platform, from closing borders to expelling roughly 300,000 people who entered Chile irregularly. Kast has consistently opposed abortion rights, same-sex marriage, and immigration; during a prior presidential run, he even proposed digging trenches along sections of the northern border to stem irregular crossings.

Kast, who launched Chile’s Republican Party in 2019, is credited with pushing hard-right ideas into the mainstream. Yet in the final stretch of the campaign, another ultraconservative has surged: Kaiser.

Kaiser, a YouTuber turned politician, has gained momentum with hardline positions centered on free-market policies, austerity, and harsher criminal penalties. In a recent AFP interview, he suggested sending immigrants with criminal records to El Salvador’s “Terrorism Confinement Center,” or Cecot.

Having split from Chile’s Republican Party, Kaiser and four deputies founded a new libertarian-aligned right-wing party in 2024. He has positioned himself as the most extreme candidate in the field, once remarking, “to my right is Genghis Khan.”

Security remains the dominant concern for voters. Crime victims have increased steadily since 2021, and experts quoted in the article note that public safety and the fight against organized crime mirror the priorities seen in many Latin American elections. While every candidate vows to crack down, it remains unclear whose message will resonate most.

Under Chilean law, if no candidate secures more than half the vote on November 16, the top two contenders will advance to a runoff on December 14.

By Nazrin Sadigova